AUTUMN, the METAL element
Autumn is an important change of season from Summer’s Fire extroverted energy, to Harvest’s nourishing energy, to Fall–a time to take care of oneself at last! Sunlit days become shorter with colder climate. We may be less active due to less light, our mood can swing inward toward grief and/or “stopped up” emotions if out of balance. Detox and cleaning up the food we eat can really help our emotions! I look forward to Autumn and its leaf color changes, soups to cook, sunny crisp days, cleansing, and being home. Autumnis a great opportunity to recover energy from Summer and work on our emotional/physical health to prepare for Winter. The Lungs and Large Intestine in traditional Chinese medicine represent the Metal element in Autumn. This is our communication system, like the electricity conducting through metal. Lung energy is the structure, the reinforcement to nourish every cell in our body with every breath. The Large Intestine is the “letting go” connection to the lungs, emotionally and physically. As we cleanse, we are opening this conductivity within ourselves. Focus on breath and let go of junk in your life that no longer serves your health and happiness. Autumn is a time to support our immunity by cleaning (detox), protecting (immunity), and reflecting (inward work). Moderate exercise, good sleep, and a cleanse are an excellent way to move from Summer, Harvest, and into Autumn. By doing so, our immune system and digestion become stronger and will protect against the current “bugs.” We use herbs, supplements, acupuncture, breath-work, exercise, and seasonal foods to support and prevent illness.
If you are interested in doing a cleanse and/or the fast mimicking program called Prolon (more information below), and you want to learn how to use acupuncture and herbs as your medicine, please let me know!
My favorite herbs/supplements for Cold/Flu Season:
Standard Process: Immuplex (Food based Vitamin A that boosts immunity)
Medi-Herb: Andrographis Complex (herbs to protect against and clear out pathogens)
Orthomolecular: D3/K2 liquid (boost immunity and mood)
Gan Mao Ling (for initial onset of cold/flu)
There are many more great blends of herbs/supplements to explore!
Detox:
I like the Standard Process nutritional company’s Purification Program: 21 days of healthy eating, Puracell herbs to cleanse, and a pea protein powder for smoothies. If you want to do this program, email back and we can get you started with the information and product.
*See toxicity questionnaire button below.
Prolon Fast Mimicking:
A 5 day “fast” with supported scientifically researched foods to support you as you mimic fasting. For example, you have a nut bar at breakfast, green olives as a snack, seed/kale crackers, soup for lunch and dinner, herbal teas and water. I have found this to be a remarkable jump start to rebooting metabolism, clear cellular debris (autophagy), balance blood sugar, and lose a few pounds.
20% off at checkout
www.prolonfmd.com/
More on Prolon from website: https://
click on Prolon under “Services” for more information for a 5 day fast mimicking program!
Cleveland Clinic’s definition of Autophagy is your body’s cellular recycling system. It allows a cell to disassemble its junk parts and repurpose the salvageable bits and pieces into new, usable cell parts. A cell can discard the parts it doesn’t need. We reach autophagy when we fast.
Autophagy is also quality control for your cells. Too many junk components in a cell take up space and can slow or prevent a cell from functioning correctly. Autophagy remakes the clutter into the selected cell components you need, optimizing your cells’ performance.
Why is autophagy important?
Autophagy is essential for a cell to survive and function.
- Recycles damaged cell parts into fully functioning cell parts.
- Gets rid of nonfunctional cell parts that take up space and slow performance.
- Destroys pathogens in a cell that can damage it, like viruses and bacteria.
Autophagy plays an important role when it comes to aging and longevity, too. As a person ages, autophagy decreases, which can lead to a build-up of cellular junk parts and, in turn, cells that aren’t functioning at their best. This is why fasting and fast mimicking has become a healthy practice throughout our lives.
Happy Autumn!!
Be good to one another and yourself,
Jenny Frost L.Ac.
